Global Director of Physical Security

ASSA ABLOY

21d

About The Position

As HID continues to scale globally, the Global Director of Physical Security is responsible for protecting the company’s people, facilities, travelers, events, and physical operations across all regions. This role establishes the enterprise physical security strategy; leads programs for personnel protection, workplace violence prevention, travel security and duty of care, centralized physical access control, event security, investigations, and emergency response; and ensures that security practices reflect HID’s culture, brand expectations, and operational standards.
Success in this role requires a leader with deep physical security expertise, exceptional emotional intelligence, and the ability to influence Real Estate, HR, Legal, Safety, Risk, IT, and regional leadership. The position frequently operates in sensitive environments where discretion, sound judgment, empathy, and composure are essential. 
This role sits within the Real Estate & Indirect Spend organization and operates with strong cross functional influence, partnering closely with all Business Areas, site leaders, and functional stakeholders to advance a harmonized approach to physical security across the company.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required in Criminal Justice, Security Management, Business, International Relations, or a related field.
• 12+ years of progressive physical‑security leadership in multi‑site or global environments, with responsibility for standards, governance, and enterprise program development.
• Experience in global corporate security environments, with exposure to multi‑region governance, cross‑cultural engagement, and security operations spanning diverse regulatory landscapes.
• Experience leading workplace violence prevention and threat‑assessment programs, including cross‑functional case management with HR, Legal, Safety, Risk, and site leadership.
• Strong working knowledge of HID Global access‑control technologies and relevant ASSA ABLOY products, with demonstrated ability to apply them in global modernization and standardization efforts.
• Proficiency with leading access‑control software platforms, including Genetec (strong preference), and Lenel, with the ability to guide adoption, governance, and enterprise deployment.
• Experience with physical alerting, monitoring, and dispatch systems, including the evaluation, activation, or oversight of early‑stage command‑center or monitoring functions.
• Leadership experience overseeing contracted security personnel and on‑site security teams (where applicable), ensuring clear expectations, foundational SOPs, and consistent service standards.
• Demonstrated ability to lead physical‑security incident response and investigations with discretion, sound judgment, and emotional steadiness.
• Proven success partnering across Real Estate, Facilities, HR, Legal, Safety, Risk, IT, Communications, and Business Areas, with strong influence and alignment‑building capabilities.
• Ability to create and implement global standards, playbooks, escalation pathways, and governance frameworks that work across diverse regulatory and cultural environments.
• High emotional intelligence and executive presence, with the ability to communicate clearly, build trust, and navigate sensitive situations across all levels of the organization.
• Strong analytical and decision‑making capability, with experience

Responsibilities

• Defining and leading the enterprise‑wide physical‑security strategy, ensuring alignment with HID’s business priorities, global footprint, and evolving risk environment.
• Establishing global standards, governance frameworks, and operating expectations across workplace‑violence prevention, investigations, travel security, emergency response, access control, guard operations, and event security.
• Developing scalable playbooks, policies, and decision frameworks that support consistent global adoption while enabling appropriate local adaptation.
• Partnering closely with Real Estate, Facilities, HR, Legal, Safety, Risk, IT, Communications, and Business Areas to reinforce alignment, clarify ownership, and embed security considerations into operational and strategic planning.
• Leading governance forums and cross‑functional working groups to strengthen communication, support cohesive implementation, and maintain global transparency on issues, risks, and program maturity.
• Anticipating emerging risks, technologies, and regulatory expectations, guiding the evolution of the physical‑security program with an enterprise mindset and proactive, data‑informed decision‑making.
• Partnering with HR, Legal, Safety, and Site Leadership on global programs that safeguard employees and visitors, including workplace‑violence prevention, threat assessment, and cross‑functional case management.
• Owning global governance and performance of Physical Access Control and Visitor Management, including enterprise‑wide deployment and modernization of HID technology.
• Leading the centralization of access provisioning, privileged‑access oversight, auditing, and integration of all new sites and acquisitions into a unified global access‑control ecosystem.
• Establishing standards that strengthen consistency, reduce risk, and support a seamless employee and visitor experience.
• Leading the global travel‑security program, including traveler risk assessments, advisories, tracking, and emergency support.
• Utilizing predictive risk analytics to guide travel approvals and protective measures.
• Ensuring travelers receive clear guidance, timely escalation, and empathetic support—especially in elevated‑risk regions or during global disruptions.
• Serving as the global physical‑security lead during emergencies and incidents, operating at the intersection of Enterprise Risk, Global Security, and local crisis‑response teams.
• Ensuring clear escalation pathways and coordination during events such as natural disasters, intrusions, protests, and workplace‑violence threats.
• Partnering with Enterprise Risk on tabletop exercises, contributing physical‑security requirements and improvement actions.
• Overseeing physical‑security monitoring and investigations and strengthening global preparedness through governance, guidance, and alignment.
• Serving as the global owner for HID’s Site Leadership Network, partnering with Real Estate, Facilities, and Enterprise Risk to define expectations and strengthen alignment.
• Establishing and maintaining site‑level call trees and escalation pathways to ensure clear communication and coordinated response.
• Providing governance rhythms, communication structures, and best practices that enable site leaders to implement physical‑security standards across diverse regions.
• Partnering with HID Marketing and Communications Events to lead security planning for global conferences, executive offsites, customer events, and internal gatherings.
• Coordinating with third‑party security and risk partners to conduct venue assessments, evaluate access and crowd‑management needs, and determine appropriate security measures.
• Developing brand‑appropriate, discreet event‑security strategies and working with stakeholders to ensure readiness for escalation when needed.
• Guiding the development of HID’s physical‑security operations, including assessing and establishing the appropriate model for a Global Command Center (GCC).
• Overseeing contracted and on‑site security personnel to ensure expectations, SOPs, and escalation pathways align with HID’s service and culture standards.
• Building foundational consistency while maturing operational capabilities over time.
• Supporting integration of new sites or acquisitions, alignment with enterprise initiatives, and continuous improvement of global physical‑security tools, policies, and practices as the function evolves.

Benefits

• Competitive salary and rewards package
• Competitive benefits and annual leave offering, allowing for work-life balance
• A vibrant, welcoming & inclusive culture
• Extensive career development opportunities and resources to maximize your potential
• To be a part of a global organization that is pioneering the hardware, software and services that allow people to confidently navigate the physical and digital worlds

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees